Saturday, 15 December 2012

Thinking about all the "dos" and "don'ts"of running I thought I'd compile a list to see if they make any sense standing next to one another. I'm not going to cite who said what, other than I've heard each "rule" from more than one source. Obviously the list includes many rules that I don't agree with

1) Make each run last more than 25 minutes. On second thought, make it an even 30.
2) No recovery run should last more than an hour
3) Ingest carbs every 45 minutes of exercise
4) Eat lots of protein no later than 45 minutes after finishing exercise
5) Throw out shoes before 600 miles of foot-travel
6) Run at least five times a week
7) Run 12 times a week or less, but also have one rest day per week
8) Do a long run one per week or every other week
9) Long runs should be less than 2.5 hours (or < 25% of weekly mileage), but more than one hour
10) For a race, train no less than 6 weeks beforehand but no more than 24 weeks.
11) Train "hard" no more than three times per week
12) Train hard at least once per week
13) Stretch well after every workout
14) Don't vigorously stretch before a hard workout
15) Be awake for at least two hours before a hard workout or race
16) Eat within an hour of waking up
17) Tempo runs should last, cumulatively, more than 20 minutes, less than an hour
18) Listen to your body. No, wait. Listen to your brain.
19) Instead of listening to your body, take enough Aspirin that your ears start ringing and push through the pain.
20) Aspirin is for wussies. Get a cortisone shot
21) While cross-training, try to get in a 'running-comparable' workout
22) Don't convert cross-training effort into 'miles run'
23) Just count your miles run
24) Count your minutes run
25) Convert your miles and minutes run into a points system
26) Maximum strength training is important for endurance athletes
27) Maximum strength workouts do not directly influence your endurance capabilities
28) Easy runs must be done at a heart rate above 120 bpm, otherwise junk mileage
29) Easy runs should feel relaxed
30) Losing weight will make you run faster
31) Don't try to purposely diet in order to lose weight
32) Vitamins are essential to your health
33) Multivitamin pills are useless

Well that was depressing to read all at once, don't you think? Forget you saw any of this.